Excerpt: ...ntiff Donna Cooper and Plaintiff Tommy G. Cooper (collectively, “Plaintiffs”). The SAC pleads causes of action for (1) violation of Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act; (2) slander; (3) libel; (4) intentional interference with prospective economic advantage; (5) negligent interference with prospective economic advantage; (6) declaratory relief; and (7) violation of Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 et seq. For the following reasons, the Demurrer ...

Excerpt: ...or the Court's ruling on the merits. Defendant attaches certain bankruptcy documents in support of two propositions: (1) that plaintiffs and defendants have agreed to the figure for the loan balance as of the date of sale, and; (2) that certain issues were litigated in bankruptcy court in December 2018 and January 2019, and should not be relitigated here. The first proposition is moot, because plaintiffs again stipulate to the loan balance in the...

Excerpt: ...raud‐based counts in the original complaint, holding that a claim of fraud in connection with a medical malpractice case is legally viable only if it is alleged that the defendants actually knew of the falsity of the statements they allegedly made. The Court allowed leave to amend to allow plaintiff to make that allegation, if he could. He has now done so, alleging expressly that “Defendant Toma knew the ‐ 8 ‐ representations were false w...

Excerpt: ...bd. (c) (1).) So “absent an intent to injure the plaintiff, ‘malice' requires more than a ‘willful and conscious' disregard of the plaintiffs' interests” and must include despicable conduct. (College Hospital Inc. v. Superior Court (1994) 8 Cal.4th 704, 725.) A defendant must have been aware of the probable dangerous consequences of his conduct, and willfully and deliberately failed to avoid those consequences. (Mock v. Michigan Mille...

Excerpt: .... Its motion for summary adjudication of the second cause of action for declaratory relief is granted in part and denied in part. The requests for judicial notice are denied as unnecessary. The Court need not judicially notice its own files, but appreciates receiving copies of relevant documents. I. Background Plaintiff San Luis Obispo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (District) hired defendant A. Teichert & Son, Inc. (Teicher...

Excerpt: ...ause of action for dangerous condition of public property against Contra Costa County. The motion is granted. “The court may . . . , after notice to the adverse party, allow, upon any terms as may be just, an amendment to any pleading or proceeding in other particulars.” (Code Civ. Proc. § 473.) “[I]t is a rare case in which ‘a court will be justified in refusing a party leave to amend his pleadings so that he may properly present his ca...

Excerpt: ...iff Manijeh Peyvan alleges the accident occurred on N. Civic Center Drive at Brio Drive in Walnut Creek. Defendant Shabir Ahmad operated the motor vehicle involved in the collision. Plaintiff alleges the vehicle operated by Defendant was owned/entrusted by EAN Holdings, LLC and Enterprise Rent‐a‐Car of San Francisco, LLC. Pursuant to Cal. Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) § 438, Defendants move for judgment on the pleadings on the ground P...

Excerpt: ... for the writ of mandate will be continued from Monday, March 25, 2019, at 9 a.m., to Wednesday, March 27, 2019, at 1:30 p.m., in this Department. 2. The parties are each permitted to file one final brief before the March 27th hearing, not to exceed fifteen pages in length. The briefs should address why or why not a writ should be issued, making sure to cite the pages in the administrative record that support the arguments. The parties should not...

Excerpt: ...er compensation for allegedly working out of classification from June 15, 2017 until September 18, 2017. (Amended Petition, paragraph 74) Mark Peterson (“Peterson”) resigned as District Attorney on June 14, 2017. (Amended Petition, paragraph 67) Petitioner contends that he discharged the duties of the CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 21 HEARING DATE: 03/13/19 ‐ 8 ‐ District Attorney, “with like authority and ...

Excerpt: ...ium agreements (as well as the prayer for injunctive relief and for attorneys' fees) should be stricken. For the following reasons, the motion is denied. As a threshold issue, the Court declines to take judicial notice of the unpublished case Sanai v. Corelogic Info. Res. (October 16, 2018) 2018 Cal.App. Unpub. LEXIS 7023. California Rules of ‐ 5 ‐ Court Rule 8.1115(a) prohibits the Court (and parties) from citing or relying on opinions not c...

Excerpt: ...hat the Premium Agreement that she executed with Cross‐Defendant BBBB Bonding Corporation dba Bad Boys Bail Bonds is a “consumer credit contract” pursuant to § 1799.90. In her FACC she alleges that “[t]he Premium Agreement is a consumer credit contract within the definition of Civil Code section 1799.90(a)(4).” The opposition, however, argues that the Premium Agreement is a consumer credit contract pursuant to both subsection (a)(4) an...

Excerpt: ...s detailed at length in the Court of Appeal's first ruling, of August 23, 2017. To make a long story short, in 2007 the County (specifically the Department of Conservation & Development, Building Inspection Division – hereinafter DCD) issued two Notices To Comply to petitioner homeowners, asserting that there were permitting problems with their use and occupancy of two adjoining properties in Oakley. The DCD never proceeded with any administrat...

Excerpt: ... Amended Complaint by April 2, 2019. First Cause of Action (Civil Code §§ 2923.5, 2923.55). Leaving aside the question of which of these two statutes applies (one being on the books in 2018, the other in 2019), the only violation alleged is that Select did not give plaintiff notice that he could request various documents. The allegation of harm to plaintiff resulting from this lack of notice is in ¶ 16(a)(1): “The failure to provide Plaintif...

Excerpt: ...rious defects. The third page of the notice of motion, presumably containing a statement of the relief requested and the signature block of plaintiffs' counsel, is missing. The opening memorandum is 20 pages long, without leave of court and without a table of authorities. (CRC 3.1113(d) and (f).) The deposition excerpts submitted with the reply papers are set out within the text of counsel's declaration, rather than in the manner prescribed by th...

Excerpt: ...ed not to disclose or retain any social media content not directly relevant to whether or not plaintiffs were engaged in BHO manufacturing. Seterus must refrain from reviewing any particular content any further than is reasonably required to ascertain whether it is responsive. This case arises from a tragic explosion occurring during plaintiffs' uncle's manufacture of butane honey oil, in which plaintiffs were badly burned. They assert premises l...

Excerpt: ...d he wants them to be part of the record in this case, he must immediately serve and file them. In these lodged papers, plaintiff complains that the Opposition was not served on him by email or fax and that he wants additional time. However, the file does not reflect any order requiring service by email or fax. Therefore, under Code of Civil Procedure § 1005(c), service by overnight delivery was sufficient. Furthermore, Code of Civil Procedure �...

Excerpt: ...s are directed to tab their exhibits in all future filings. (See CRC 3.1110(f).) Respondent's RJN. Respondent's request for judicial notice is granted. Res Judicata. The present petition is barred by res judicata. (See petitioners' Exhibit 2 [8‐1‐18 order denying arbitration in Case No. N18‐0674].) Prior orders denying arbitration must generally be given res judicata effect. (See Lounge‐A‐Round v. GCM Mills, Inc. (1980) 109 Cal.App.3d 1...

Excerpt: ... ‘aris[e] from' protected activity in which the defendant has engaged. [Citations.] If the defendant carries its burden, the plaintiff must then demonstrate its claims have at least ‘minimal merit.' [Citations.]” (Park v. Board of Trustees of California State University (2017) 2 Cal.5th 1057, 1061.) Background On August 29, 2018, Plaintiff Paul Hantke as trustee of the Alex W. Hantke Survivor's Trust (“Hantke”) filed a lawsuit against R...

Excerpt: ...be brought to strike any “irrelevant, false, or improper matter inserted in any pleading”. (Code of Civil Procedure § 436.) When ruling on a motion to strike, a court applies the same rules as applicable to a demurrer: The court may consider only matters shown on the face of the complaint or of which it may take judicial notice. (Code of Civil Procedure § 437(a); see Circle Star Center Associates, L.P. v. Liberate Technologies (2007) 147 Ca...

Excerpt: ...tice are unopposed and granted. Defendant must file and serve an answer within 30 days. Plaintiff argues that personal jurisdiction exists for two reasons. First, defendant appeared at a case management conference and a restraining order hearing. (Code of Civil Procedure § 410.50(a) [general appearance is equivalent to personal service].) Second, defendant satisfies the “minimum contacts” required for California jurisdiction based on purpose...

Excerpt: ...rty at issue. CDC sent an e‐mail giving notice of its intention to contest the tentative, raising several issues addressed in the briefs and the tentative. (That's not a criticism of CDC; that's what contesting a tentative is for.) At the actual hearing on January 18, however, CDC chose not to go into any of the points mentioned in its e‐mail. Instead, it raised an argument it concededly had not mentioned at all in CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT...

Excerpt: ... they have seen in the settlement agreement has affected their Opposition. On or before March 1, 2019 the moving parties may file and serve a Supplemental Reply Brief responding to the Supplemental Opposition Brief. None of the supplemental briefs may exceed three pages. This case concerns an alleged failure to disclose problems affecting a house in Alamo that plaintiff purchased. Plaintiff filed suit on August 31, 2018, and a first amended compl...

Excerpt: ...e § 338(a).) It requires the defendant to have “engaged in a pattern of conduct the intent of which was to follow, alarm, place under surveillance, or harass the plaintiff.” (Civ. Code § 1708.7(a)(1).) To establish this element, the plaintiff “shall be required to support his or her allegations with independent corroborating evidence.” (Id.) Plaintiff pleads actions in 2016 and 2017 that, if proven, would support a stalking claim within...

Excerpt: ... of petition or free speech under the United States Constitution or California Constitution in connection with a public issue.” See CCP Section 425.16(b)(1) The claim may appear in a complaint, petition or cross‐complaint. See CCP Section 426.16(h); Kajima Engineering & Construction, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles (2002) 95 Cal.App.4th 921, 929. Here, the Cross‐Complaint of Defendant/Cross‐Complainant, Justin Mendoza, (“CrossComplainant”...

Excerpt: ...se of Action for Reformation in the Second Amended Complaint, pursuant to CCP § 437c and CRC, Rule 3.1350. Plaintiffs seek reformation of the First Amendment to the Operating Agreement of 400 Taylor Holdings, LLC as to 50% ownership of 400 Taylor Holdings, LLC. “The motion for summary judgment shall be granted if all the papers submitted show that there is no triable issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judg...